Savers living north of the border will no longer be able to invest in Premium
Bonds or other NS&I accounts under 'overseas' customer rules

National Savings & Investments has said that in the event of Scottish independence people living north of the border – unless they have a bank account with an institution then on the south side – will no longer be able to invest in Premium Bonds or other NS&I accounts.

Investors could keep their existing holdings, but new money would have to be turned away.

NS&I, which is unique in being regulated directly by the Treasury rather than by other financial authorities, said its rules would need to change if it were to allow savers in an independent Scotland to invest fresh money. At the moment only non-resident savers with a UK bank account can save with NS&I, although they are excluded from owning Isas.

A spokesman said: “In the event of Scottish independence current rules would prevent anyone with only a Scottish bank account from buying NS&I products.”

It follows a week in which analysts at UBS, the global bank, warned that savers would take money out of Scottish financial institutions if there were a vote for independence in September’s referendum. “Where there is even a possibility that Scotland could have anything other than full monetary union [it] is likely to be perceived as the weaker part of the sterling area,” UBS said, concluding that this could lead to “savings shifting rapidly”.

What this would mean in practice is a matter of speculation as all major banks’ customers are cross-border. UBS also said it “did not seem feasible that RBS or Lloyds could remain Scottish companies in the event of a 'yes’ vote.” Neither bank has made clear its plans in the event of Scottish independence.

Uncertainty around the security of their savings has previously seen depositors flock to NS&I, as during the banking crisis of 2008, when the institution had to take action to discourage further inflows.

NS&I has recent experience of turning away customers. Following the introduction of tough new US tax laws, requiring other countries’ finance firms to gather information on behalf of the US taxman, it will close 2,700 US customers’ accounts. Some were closed on July 1. It said it took the step because the administrative costs were considered “disproportionate”.

Scotland’s Future, the White Paper published by the Scottish Government in November, referred to the creation of a Scottish version of NS&I, saying: “Independent Scottish governments would have the option of borrowing from Scottish citizens through a Scottish national savings and investments function. However, with low rates of interest prevailing, this is unlikely to be an early priority.”